


Hungry for the Underworld

by robyn_bird



Series: how a girl becomes a wolf [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: During Evil Queen | Regina Mills's First Dark Curse, F/M, Possessive Behavior, Pre-Relationship, Unresolved Sexual Tension, season one, threatening gift giving, unhealthy relationship ideals, we do not start strong and quickly go down hill from there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 06:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20253982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robyn_bird/pseuds/robyn_bird
Summary: “Take it from a man no longer young/ if you want to hold a woman, son/ hang a chain around her throat/ made of many carat gold.”





	Hungry for the Underworld

**Author's Note:**

> you don't have to read the other works, but I would recommend it.

“I know what you’re doing.” Regina says as she walks into his shop, locking the door behind her and turning the closed sign around. She’s glaring at Gold like she used to back home, and he can’t help but smile about it. 

“Do you?” She could only put up with so much teasing, but he was in no mood to stop yet. He had decades to make up for after all.

“You think I’m going to try and stop getting rid of her if _you_ protect her?”

“Protect her? From what, pray tell?” He asks her curiously, quirking an eyebrow and meeting her angry glare. “I wasn’t aware Miss Swan was in need of protection.”

“She won’t be, if you leave well enough alone.”

“Are you making a threat against one of your citizens? You remember I’m a lawyer, of course.” Gold barely stops himself from scoffing. 

“She is _not_ a citizen!” Regina snaps, looking as if she’s about the throw a fit. This is quickly losing its entertainment factor and he is becoming more and more annoyed with Regina. She had gotten what she wanted and it still wasn't enough, it would never be enough for her. 

“Oh no? I do believe she’s employed and paying rent in one of these little apartments. That does constitute a resident doesn’t it?” 

“So long as I am Mayor that woman will never have a home here.” Regina hisses, stepping up to the counter and slamming her hand against it. “And if you know what’s good for you you’ll stay out of my way.” Gold only raises an eyebrow, doing nothing to impede her leaving his shop so he can laugh to himself in private. 

Regina has been near obsessive in getting him to own up to his memories. She knows that he knows but right now they have to pretend that neither know that the other knows. It was getting exhausting, and he contemplated just owning up to it, it wasn’t like she could do anything (but neither can you, his mind screams at him, you are _helpless_ here until the curse breaks and then — _then_ — you can focus on finding Bae). Oh, but he enjoyed that pinched look on her face when he didn’t play into her hand, how her lips pursed into not-quite-a-frown. Regina is a beautiful woman.

It’s too bad she’s a borderline sociopath. 

* * *

Gold is settling into cleaning the jewelry for the afternoon. The dust it collects almost ridiculous, it would usually be just a matter of dusting them and being done with it, but he took pride in his work. No matter that it isn’t his trade, he takes pride in what he does regardless. What sort of person wouldn’t?

Cleaning his trinkets is nearly as calming as spinning was, and he needed an outlet. Needed something too clear his mind and keep him from just mowing everyone in this damn town down with his car. God, what he wouldn’t give for just a little leeway, just a little pull. Magic is a crutch, he reminds himself. Ah, but what a beautiful crutch it is. Never having to worry about anything, never having to defer to someone else ever again. He could go about his business as he wanted to. It didn’t matter if it was morally grey, all that matter was that _he_ was okay with it. 

And in three-hundred years he had come to find he was okay with most things. 

“Back again, dearie?” He doesn’t look up at who comes into the shop, it was like clockwork most days now. Emma moves around the space deftly, at home here. She leans against the case next to where he’s working, admiring the jewelry laid out to be cleaned. Gold holds up the necklace he is working on next to Emma, she blushes and draws back a little, clearing her throat awkwardly. 

“I, uh, brought lunch.”

“Then I suppose you can stay.” He says graciously, setting the necklace back down and walking toward a cleared part fo the counter, where they weren’t in danger of getting food on priceless jewels (more often than not the jewelry in the store ended up being _crown jewels_ and now that he knew it he coveted them all the more). 

Emma hadn’t realized how agitated she had been until she stepped into the shop. Like a balm, calmness washes over her as she closes the door behind her. Her shoulders relax and she can breathe easily again. The anxiety of Henry’s anxiety was eased for a moment, it doesn’t seem as insurmountable as it did back outside on the sidewalk. Regina seems like a faraway evil that she heard about on the news and not a direct threat to her happiness, or her son’s. 

Gold doesn’t feel the need to try and fix her problems either, or even offer sound advice like Mary does. Emma wouldn’t take it anyway. She loves Mary, but she didn’t want advice or constructive criticism, sometimes she just wanted to vent, sometimes she just wanted quiet. 

She gets quiet now, to put herself in order and find the strength to face the rest of the day with a town full of busybodies and sociopaths. 

“Hey, do you know anything about this Kathryn lady?” Emma asks suddenly, killing the peaceful moment that Gold had found himself in.

“Aside from the fact that your roommate is having an affair with her husband? She seems perfectly nice.” Perfectly nice being code for ‘No, Emma, why would I know her’. Emma frowns at him, wishing he would just say what he meant for once. 

“Mary isn’t having an affair with him-Oh my God Mary is having an affair with him.” Emma groans into her hands, and he’s less impressed by the affair than the fact that Emma hadn’t noticed. He knew she was working near constantly, but she had to have noticed _something._

“You didn’t notice,” he states and Emma makes another groaning sound. “Really, Miss Swan, I thought you at least took stock of the people you liked.” 

“It’s not unreasonable to think an adult doesn’t need to be checked on every second.” Emma defends herself, now worried she’s going to have to put out this fire (Emma is trying to juggle them all like _she’s_ the parent and Gold is certain when their memories do return Emma will make her dissatisfaction known loudly, and often). 

“Can one really consider Miss Blanchard an adult?” Gold muses. She really was just like Snow White, if Snow White had been raised in a middle class suburb with a nuclear family. It’s interesting how on the surface they may seem completely different (certainly different enough for Regina) but at their core they would always be the same people. David was still self-absorbed, Mary thought with her heart more than her brain, and here he was pursuing relationships with people who were much too good for him. 

And Emma was too good for him, it was obvious enough. Just as obvious as the pull he felt toward her. The peaceful ease he felt when she was around was only ever present before when his dagger was in his possession. Perhaps it was the fact that he had put so much stock in her, but he hadn’t a chance to really consider it yet, and so kept it close and kept it quiet. 

Gold liked to think he was smart enough not to think of the Savior as a romantic prospect, and perhaps he wouldn’t until after he had settled things with Bae. It was becoming increasingly hard, however, when she spent most of her free time in his company. She hadn’t realized she was actively seeking him out yet, and so enjoyed it while he could. 

But if he did want to pursue something in the future, he couldn’t give her a chance to stray. Gold watches Emma have a crisis about Mary’s affair, her worry over her friend (and _only_ a friend for the time being, he’s certain this worry will drop significantly when Emma understands the curse and the timeless hellscape they’ve been trapped in) endearing, and yet another reason he is drawn to her. She could be the empathy he lacked, the sweetness that had soured over years and years of isolation. 

And in return he could give her anything she ever wanted. 

But for now: A necklace would do. 

Magic wasn’t common here, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist at all. It’s there in the fog of an early autumn morning, the steam from a perfectly brewed cup of tea, the love of a mother willing to sacrifice everything for her child, or the uninhibited smile of a lover. And it’s there in Emma, in her veins. It courses through her whole body, she can’t help it. 

He doesn’t need the magic, simply being in Emma’s possession would be enough. A token, like in the stories, something to draw her to him. It’s terribly romantic of him. 

“Come here a moment, my dear,” he says softly, and Emma looks curiously at him, but does as she’s told. Gold smiles softly, the urge to reach out to her almost consuming but he has practice with these things. “Now, I don’t want to hear any protests,” he says as he stands, leaning against the counter so he doesn’t put too much pressure on his leg. He tells her to turn around and Emma is a little more hesitant, but still does so. 

Gold moves her hair over her shoulder, his fingers brushing the back of her neck. Emma bites her lip and tries to keep the jolt of electricity she feels to herself. Was she this touch starved? It’s been awhile sure, but Mary was physically affectionate, and always happy to offer a hug (sometimes too happy and Emma had been trying to keep a healthy amount of boundaries between them, though Mary usually just steamrolled over them), but she didn’t want to _sleep_ with Mary-

_Dear God, did she want to sleep with Gold?_

Emma screams in her head, blindsided by the sudden revelation that her spending time with him might not be as innocent as she had thought. But her near heart attack is put on hold when she registers just why he had moved her hair in the first place. 

“Oh-Oh no, I- This is too-“

“What did I say?” He chides, sitting back and smiling as she whirls around to face him, her hand over the necklace at her throat. Gold sets his head in his hand and admires the surprised look on her face, and the necklace when she moves her hand away from it. It’s a simple thing, a small rosebud, pressed into the metal and silver to match her other necklace. “It’s better served with you, than collecting dust in my display case,” he says. Gold reaches out to run his thumb over it one last time, noticing the subtle glow from it only because he is looking for it. Then he smiles at her, and Emma’s heart skips a beat. 

She’s certain she’s red as her jacket, but doesn’t fidget or look away to draw attention to it. If she was going to be a child about this then so be it, but she wouldn’t cower like one. She was a woman grown, and in charge of her own faculties, and if she was _infatuated_ with someone who deigned to give her positive attention here, well, it would pass. Probably not quickly, but it would, Emma is sure of it. 

“I, um, thank you. This still feels like too much, but thank you.” Emma smiles, and darling, beautiful Emma, she can’t stop blushing. It looks so out of place, he’s going to have to fix that. “I don’t have anything to give you,” she tries to joke, still awkward but powering through. 

“I daresay lunch was a fair enough trade. You have taken on the admirable task of making sure I take care of myself, after all.” Gold takes pity on her and travels them back into safer waters, somewhere Emma can keep her head up on her own. While he enjoys dearly the thought of her relying on him, perhaps now is not the time for that yet. She’s still getting her footing here, there would be plenty of time for that in the future. 

* * *

It’s almost easy to forget that she was wearing it. The necklaces are different lengths and don’t hit each other, so there’s no noise to remind her, it simply becomes another part of her. No one else really seems to notice either, or if they do they don’t mention it.

No one, that is, except Regina. 

Emma is walking Henry back up to the house after having him at the diner for an after school snack as she has been _allowed_ to do for a few weeks now. Regina was still sore about the sheriff election, but Henry had held his breath until he’d gotten his way (_yes,_ in fact, Emma had been the one to give him this idea and as she suspected, Regina had not known what to do at all and caved almost immediately) and so now Emma and Henry went to have early dinner after school on Wednesdays and Fridays at Granny’s. 

Regina is waiting at the front door like she always does, and Henry ducks under her arm quickly, scurrying up the stairs before she can say a word to him. 

“I hope you refrained from feeding him a gallon of ice cream this time,” Regina scoffs, looking back at Emma as Henry disappears into his room. 

“It wasn’t a _gal-_“

“What on earth is _that_?” Regina snaps, cutting off Emma and glaring at her necklace. She looks at it closely, as close as she can for the split second she has before Emma covers it and draws back from her, down the step from her porch. 

“A necklace, sometimes people wear them,” Emma snaps back, on guard and ready to run should she have to.

“Where did you get it?” Regina demands and Emma curls her lip slightly. 

“It doesn’t matter, I didn’t _steal it_ I know that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I wasn’t-“ Regina starts to defend herself before she smile and laughs. “I _wasn’t,_ but I am now. Curious how things magically end up in your possession isn’t it, Miss Swan?” 

“I _told you_, Henry gave me the shirt!” Emma huffs and throws her hands up. “And it was a gift! So you can rest easy, Madame Mayor, there is not a jewelry thief stalking your neighborhoods.” Emma shoves her hands in her pockets and walks down to her car, Regina watching her go, still smiling. 

His own avarice has undone him. 

“Henry! I’ll be ten minutes I have to run back to the office for something!” Regina shouts into the house when she hears Emma’s car pull away. 

The closed sign has never bothered her before, and it certainly wouldn’t now. She knows he doesn’t lock the door until he’s finished cleaning and she’s never understood why. But isn’t about to bring it to his attention when she uses it so often. 

Gold doesn’t look up this time either, and Regina’s skin prickles. 

“A pretty little _collar_ you have for your pet, Gold,” Regina spits, slamming her hand on the counter and making him look at her. “Afraid she’s going to go off and find someone else to hide behind?”

“I don’t know-“

“_Shut up!_” Regina shouts. “You played your hand! This is the price you pay for laying claim to Emma Swan! You knew what you were doing, and when she finds out what do you think she’s going to say? Do you think she’s going to swoon and be glad you laid a protection charm on her? _How_ you managed that here is truly remarkable, but not something I would put past _you_.” Regina laughs hysterical almost and Gold clicks his tongue.

“Once again your imagination is lacking. A protection charm,” he shakes his head, “from what? The rain? It’s not a protection charm, Your Majesty, and it’s not something for you to worry your head over. Now if you don’t mind, I have to go over inventory before closing, _please,_ leave.” Regina grits her teeth, slams her hand on the counter one more time before taking her exit, as asked. 

Gold glares at the door for a moment, listening to her heels click against the sidewalk until he can’t hear them anymore, and then grabbing the paperweight next to him to hurl at the wall. He had been so careful, he was sure Regina wouldn’t recognize something as mundane as a necklace. But she had been clever, and while it had served its purpose at the time, it was starting to grate on his nerves. Regina would be a bigger thorn in his side than he anticipated, especially if he wanted to get this over and done with. 

He’d need a way to ensure Emma would stay here, and while the timing could be better, the seeds had already been sown. It was just a matter of cultivating it, and then reaping the rewards. 


End file.
